Typically, a patient that is prescribed a medication reads the instructions on the prescription bottle and other written documents to inform the patient when and how much medication to take during a period of time. Sometimes, the patient needs a refill of the medication and must remember to place an order with a pharmacist a few days before the patient runs out of medication. The pharmacist places an order for the medication whenever the patient places the order. If the patient does not place the order, the pharmacist simply does not order the medication. Some problems that arise from this scenario are that the patient sometimes forgets to take his medication at the proper time, the patient has to physically go to a pharmacist store to place an order for his medication, the medication is not readily accessible to the patient when the patient places an order for his medication, etc.
In addition, there are more medications available now than before to treat various diseases, such as kidney failure, diabetes, cancers, etc. Some of these illnesses require multiple medications to treat the illness. For example, a patient with kidney failure may be required to take medications for high blood pressure, medication for controlling his blood sugar level, and other medications to substitute the functions of the kidney. The management of dispensing the medication from the pharmacist to the patient and releasing the medication to the patient has become difficult and at times overbearing. Self management of medication is especially difficult for elderly patients who may have multiple medications that must be taken on different time schedules.
From the above, it can be appreciated that it would be desirable to have a reliable system and method for processing the releasing and/or dispensing of releasable items, i.e., pills, capsules, tablets, medications, and drugs.